Olsen wins seat on Dighton Water District Board of Commissioners

In the quiet, remote setting of the Dighton Water District Treatment Plant and headquarters on Monday night, a new commissioner was elected.

By Michael Smith

The Taunton Daily Gazette, Taunton, MA

By Michael Smith

Posted May. 21, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 21, 2013 at 9:01 PM

By Michael Smith

Posted May. 21, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated May 21, 2013 at 9:01 PM

DIGHTON

» Social News

In the quiet, remote setting of the Dighton Water District Treatment Plant and headquarters on Monday night, a new commissioner was elected.

A reported “good turnout” at the polls helped propel challenger Greg Olsen to win a seat on the Dighton Water District Board of Commissioners. Olsen unseated incumbent Paul Joly.

The Dighton Water District treatment plant and headquarters, located on Williams Street, was completed in 2006 at the cost of $7 million. On average, the plant treats 250,000 to 300,000 gallons of water per day in the winter, and as many as 1 million gallons per day in the summer.

The Dighton Water District Board of Commissioners is a public utility that provides water for more than 1,600 residents and operates this year with a budget of $2.1 million. It has three people serving on its board, with each serving a term of three years. The elections are held on a rotating schedule, meaning all three seats are not up for grabs in one given year.

Olsen, a former superintendent of the North Dighton Water District for 15 years and a member of the Dighton Sewer Commission since 1999, received 95 votes out of the 157 who voted between noon and 7 p.m. on Monday. Joly received 60 votes, including two write-ins.

“It’s what the people voted for,” said Joly briefly after the final tally was announced. Asked if he would run again for the Board of Commissioners or for some other office, Joly responded that he didn’t know at this time.

Joly, a 23-year veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, ended his three-year term as a board commissioner on Monday night. He also served 17 years on Dighton’s Planning Board.

After the polls closed at 7 p.m., both Olsen and Joly were engaged in a friendly chat outside of the headquarters as they waited for the election results to come in. Fifteen minutes later, they were allowed back in for the announcement of the winner.

Patrick Menges, a member of the Dighton Water District Board of Commissioners, was on hand to congratulate Olsen.

“The people have spoken. Certainly we pay respect for Commissioner Joly and his service,” said Menges. “He leaves behind a legacy of change.”

On the incoming of Olsen, Menges said, “We look forward to working with Commissioner Olsen and his ideas.”

After Olsen was sworn in as the newest member on the Board of Commissioners, he reiterated what he plans to do for the town of Dighton. “Public relation is a priority,” Olsen said into remedy the negative perception the public has of the Dighton Water District.

Olsen also wants to “do away” with many of the water bans that Dighton now faces, such as limited use of lawn sprinklers in the summertime in order to create revenue for the district.

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Asked what he would do to reach out to those who voted for his opponent, the easy-going Olsen said after he learns the system, that anyone should feel free to ask him questions they might have on anything. “I would have public hearings on how the money is spent,” Olsen said. “This is the people’s water district.”